


Like a Best Friend

by charming_barnes



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Based on a Tumblr Post, Fake Marriage, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Light Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Roommates, Slow Burn, So is Bucky, Wedding Planning, Weddings, and they were ROOMMATES, i guess, idiots to lovers, just bc Bucky is sad :(, steve is an idiot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-08-27 12:33:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16702651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charming_barnes/pseuds/charming_barnes
Summary: Steve read on tumblr that if you send a wedding invitation to a billionaire their secretaries will likely send you a gift automatically. So platonic best friends Steve and Bucky pretend to be having a wedding so Tony Stark will send them an expensive gift. What could go wrong?





	1. Silence and Patience

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is, my first Marvel chaptered fic. This was inspired by a tumblr post originally posted by tumblr user catchymemes. Also, the title and chapter titles are from Taylor Swift's "Dress." I'm excited about this one :)

“Bucky, we need a laptop for school,” Steve said. It was an old argument.

 

“I know, Steve,” Bucky said, tired. “It would be nice to be able to work on my assignments at home too. But we just can’t afford it.”

 

For the last three years, Steve and Bucky had been doing all their online assignments and essays at libraries, which obviously had its limitations. Now, in their last year of college, they were both tired of staying at libraries until they were politely kicked out by friendly librarians an hour after closing. 

 

“Hey, guess what I saw on tumblr today,” Steve said, and Bucky could see the light bulb go up over Steve’s head. This couldn’t be good.

 

Bucky silently squinted at him suspiciously. 

 

“Why yes, Steve, my best friend in the whole world, I would love to know what you saw on tumblr today,” Steve said in a terrible caricature of Bucky’s voice. “Well, I will tell you! This says that if you send a wedding invitation to a billionaire, it’s likely that their secretary will just send you something automatically. Worth a shot, right?”

 

“What are you saying, Steve? You’re going to fake a wedding to get a laptop from a random billionaire?” Bucky asked, incredulous. 

 

“No.  _ We  _ are going to fake a wedding to get a laptop from a billionaire. And not just any billionaire,” Steve started, “we can send an invite to local billionaire Tony Stark himself. The guy is known for being eccentric.” 

 

“Hold on,” Bucky said. “You want to fake marry me for a laptop?”

 

“Well,” Steve said, “we wouldn’t even have to plan a wedding. It’d just be sending an invite and a thank-you card in a couple weeks.” 

 

It was obvious from the look on Steve’s pretty face that he thought he was a genius. Bucky wasn’t so sure.

 

“I don’t know, Steve,” he said. 

 

“What, you don’t want to fake marry me?” Steve pouted.

 

No, Bucky did not, in fact, want to fake marry his platonic best friend that he had had a crush on since they were kids.  _ Especially  _ when said crush is unrequited. But with Steve looking at him through those ridiculous lashes, Bucky melted.

 

“It’s not that,” he said. “It’s just, do you really want to tell a guy like Tony Stark that you’re marrying little old me?”

 

“Well, who else would I marry?” Steve asked in such a matter-of-fact way that the question destroyed a tiny bit of Bucky’s heart. “Fake marry, that is.” 

 

Huh. There went the rest of Bucky’s heart. It’s fine; he didn’t need it. 

 

“Yeah, I guess so,” Bucky said, hoping he didn’t sound as tired as he felt. “You gonna make the invitation, or…?” 

 

“Wanna help me pick a date?” Steve asked.

 

“I guess it shouldn’t be too far away, since he’s likely to send a gift close to the actual day,” Bucky said. “Maybe… a month from now?”

 

“Let’s pick a Saturday,” Steve said. “How about… October 27?”

 

“Sure, why not,” Bucky said. He supposed it didn’t really matter.

 

“Great,” Steve said, typing out an invitation in a template he found on his phone.

 

When he was done, the invitation read

 

Steven Grant Rogers and James Buchanan Barnes

Formally invite you to their wedding on 

Saturday, the twenty-seventh of October, 2018

It will be held at the Green-Wood Cemetery Church

Located at 500 25th Street

At four o’clock in the evening

Please send an R.S.V.P to (718) 123 4567

A registry can be found through Target

 

“Sounds great,” Bucky said. “Wait, why is your name first? Mine should be first. It’s alphabetical in every way.”

 

“Buck, please. I wrote the invitations and came up with the idea. My name should be first,” Steve argued.

 

Bucky rolled his eyes. “Fine,” he said. It’s not like they were actually getting married, anyway.  

 

Steve sent it to the printer, annoyed to find he could only print on cardstock in batches of twenty-five. Whatever, that works. They could send the others to other billionaires.

 

***

 

The next day, Steve took a bus down to the printers to pick up the invitations. They were printed on quality cardstock, a worthy investment for all the wedding gifts they would receive. On the way home, he mailed one to Tony Stark at Stark Tower and took the others home. 

 

Steve and Bucky debated about who to send the others to, but decided to wait and see if they got a response from Tony first. 

 

They spent a few minutes putting a laptop and other random household things into a registry online, since they figured it might look weird if they only put one thing in it. They could use a new toaster, anyway, after their last one was mysteriously set on fire. Hey, toaster grilled cheese  _ sounded _ like a good idea, okay? 

 

***

 

“Hey, Bucky?” Steve called. “Can you come here for a sec?”

 

Bucky, grumbling, got up from his comfortable spot in his room and walked to where Steve was sitting drawing. Steve was looking at his phone in horror, and Bucky felt a sense of dread begin to settle in his stomach.

 

“What?” he asked.

 

Wordlessly, Steve held out the phone. Bucky grabbed it from him and read the displayed text.

 

FROM: Unknown Number (4:37 p.m)

hey, it’s tony. you can count on me being at your wedding. i’ll bring the wine so don’t worry about it

 

Bucky looked up at Steve with wide eyes. They hadn’t even considered the possibility that actual Tony Stark would actually RSVP to their fake wedding. The universe must hate Bucky.

 

“So, Buck,” Steve said, “wanna get married? For real?”

 

How could he say no?


	2. Pining in Anticipation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah, i'm writing this instead of updating my tarot series. but those are hard. so. here's this instead, i hope you all like it.

The next day, Bucky was half convinced the previous night was a dream. There was no way he was actually marrying his straight best friend, right? 

 

But then he walked out into the living room to see the stack of twenty-four remaining wedding invitations, which were more than enough to convince him he didn’t dream the entire thing. It’d be a nightmare, anyway, right? Because, yeah, Bucky gets to marry his longtime crush, but it’s just so they don’t have to announce to Actual Tony Stark they lied just to get money from him. That would be embarrassing. More embarrassing than getting married and answering questions about it? Maybe not. We’ll see.

 

Steve walked in with a yawn, Bucky avoiding his eyes. 

 

“Good morning,” Steve said, unaware of Bucky’s mood.

 

Bucky stared resolutely into the fridge, looking for a breakfast that wasn’t cereal or microwave popcorn. 

 

“Good morning,” Steve said again, thinking Bucky didn’t hear him the first time. Poor guy. 

 

“Mornin,’” Bucky responded, with as little emotion as possible.

 

“So,” Steve said brightly, “I was thinking we could send these leftover invitations we already got printed to our friends so that there’s more than just Tony there.”

 

Bucky slammed the fridge door shut but didn’t turn around. 

 

“I want as little influence in this as you can give me,” he said. “This was your dumb idea, you plan the damn thing.”

 

Steve held up his hands. “Okay, okay, sorry? What’s your problem with this?”

 

“Seriously?” Bucky asked, incredulous. “What’s my  _ problem _ ? You are absolutely my problem, Steve, and I can’t believe I ever agreed to this. The worst part is you don’t even get it!”

 

“Get what?” Steve asked.

 

“It’s incredibly not important,” Bucky said. “Just go back to your wedding planning. I hope you can honor all that stuff you put in the invitation.”

 

Bucky stormed out, leaving a very confused Steve in his wake.

 

***

 

An hour later, Bucky found Steve trying to book things from his cell phone.

 

“I’m sorry for earlier. I shouldn’t have yelled at you,” he said.

 

“It’s okay. I know this is stressful,” Steve said. “Do you really not want anything to do with the planning?”

 

Bucky sighed. “I guess I’ll help. Let me know what you need.”

 

“Look, Buck, really, if this is making you uncomfortable we can call the whole thing off. Tony Stark doesn’t even need to know why,” Steve said.

 

Bucky stopped to consider for a second before replying, “No, it’s fine. I mean, there are logical reasons why we  _ could _ get married, right?”

 

“Yeah, I heard there are tax benefits or whatever,” Steve said. “Plus, we can always get divorced later if you want.”

 

“True,” Bucky said. “And, we already live together, so it’s not like too much would change, right?”

 

“Right! And neither of us has to change our names if we don’t want to,” Steve said. “It’s not uncommon for both people to keep their last names.”

 

“So nothing is changing. It’s not really that big of a deal,” Bucky said, more to convince himself than to convince Steve.

 

“Yeah,” Steve said. “So, wanna help me try and book this venue I already put on the invitations?”

 

It only took a few phone calls because, luckily, the church wasn’t booked for anything else that day. Steve and Bucky both blanched at the price, even though it was significantly less than anywhere else they could have picked.

 

***

 

Bucky stepped out of his and Steve’s apartment later that day and promptly stepped on an envelope.

 

Frowning, he picked it up. “To: Steve and Bucky,” the back read.

 

Bucky turned around to walk back inside.

 

“Hey, Steve,” he called. “Come look at this.”

 

“What’s in it?” Steve asked.

 

“I don’t know, but it has both of our names on it,” Bucky said. “Should we open it?”

 

“Well, yeah,” Steve said.

 

Bucky shrugged and tore it open. His jaw went slack as he read the paper wedged inside.

 

“What? What is it?” Steve asked, concerned.

 

“Listen to this; ‘Dear Mr. and Mr. Rogers (Barnes?), Enclosed is a check for you to fill out and use for your wedding expenses. A little birdie told me you may need help. Please feel free to go crazy and spend whatever you need. Trust me, it’ll be fine. Sincerely, TS.’” Bucky read. 

 

“TS,” Steve mused. “Taylor Swift? Why would Taylor Swift fund our wedding?”

 

Bucky just looked at him for a second. “You really can’t think of anyone else with the initials ‘TS’? Maybe, like, a local billionaire?”

 

Steve blinked. “Oh! I guess that makes more sense,” he said after a moment. “Wait, why would Tony Stark want to fund our wedding?”

 

“I have no idea, but I am not about to question a blank check signed by Tony Stark himself,” Bucky said.

 

***

 

Alone in his room, Steve sighed and leaned back against the door. Why did his best friend have to be straight? And, more importantly, not into him? This whole wedding thing was turning into a nightmare for both of them. Bucky had to pretend to be into guys, and Steve had to pretend he wasn’t acting out a dream. Why does the universe hate him?

 

They had really started to plan today, booking the venue for the date and time he had already put on the invitations (Steve would like to thank not only God but also Jesus that the church was available that day). The entire time, Bucky was trying to create a heterosexual explanation for the whole mess, likely to make himself more comfortable with marrying his guy best friend. Why did Steve suggest this, again?

 

Right. He wanted a laptop. Really? This whole thing started over a laptop? Yeah, going to libraries every time he needed to write a paper was annoying, but faking a wedding? And it wasn’t even fake! In like two and a half weeks Steve was going to be legally married to his completely straight best friend. Awesome.

 

***

 

Bucky couldn’t sleep that night. As they started to plan and actually booked the church, it was starting to get way too real. And it’s not like he could tell Steve how he really feels, right? It would mess up their friendship right before they were supposed to be getting married. Bucky could barely even remember why it was so important that Tony not find out the wedding was fake. Really, they could just send him a letter saying nevermind, the wedding was canceled. Wouldn’t that be easier?

 

No, it’s too late now. Bucky Barnes is marrying Steve Rogers, and they’d never been on a date. They do live together, though. So, really, they’re a step ahead of a lot of actual couples. Except, you know, the couples getting married are typically, usually, like, actually in love. Whatever. They’ll be fine as long as Steve doesn’t know that Bucky isn’t actually that upset about marrying him. If it were only under different circumstances, this wedding would be a dream come true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my poor dumb babies i love them so much
> 
> also, you can find me on tumblr [here](https://lokiinlove.tumblr.com/) for my marvel blog, which can link you to any of my other blogs. send me an ask if you want, i'd love to talk to you


	3. Flashback When You Met Me

The morning after Bucky decided Steve couldn’t know that Bucky was in love with him, Bucky went looking for Steve. He found him in their kitchen, tiredly drinking a hot cup of coffee.

 

“Good morning, Steve,” he said.

 

“G’mornin,” Steve mumbled around the rim of his cup.

 

“So I was thinking,” Bucky started, looking for creamer for his own coffee, “we should probably make up some sort of backstory. Wouldn’t it be weird if we just randomly got married and couldn’t explain when we started dating? Or which one of us proposed, and how?”

 

“Good point,” Steve said. “So, how would you ask me out?”

 

Bucky ignored the flutter in his chest as he answered, “I guess I would have asked if you wanted to see a movie, and then ‘accidentally’ hold your hand. It’s hard since we’ve been friends for so long, it would be strange to just ask you out.”

 

Steve looked thoughtful. “What about when we went to see  _ Mockingjay Part One _ ? That was long enough ago that us getting married wouldn’t be overly strange.”

 

“That works,” Bucky said. “So, why haven’t we told anyone we’re dating?”

 

“Maybe we can convince them we said something a long time ago and they just forgot?” Steve said. 

 

Bucky rolled his eyes to the ceiling and prayed for patience. “That’s called ‘gaslighting,’ Steve, and we can’t do that. Maybe we could say we weren’t sure how they would react? So we just didn’t want to tell them?”

 

“Yes, Buck, our bi friend Sam would not understand that we were dating,” Steve said.

 

“How about we just say that we forgot to tell them,” Bucky suggested. 

 

“Fine,” Steve said. “So which one of us proposed?”

 

“Well, you did, technically,” Bucky said. “But we should probably get a better story than ‘do you want to fake marry me to  _ maybe _ get a laptop from Tony Stark?’”

 

Steve smiled a little. “Yeah, true. Okay, so if I were really going to propose to you, I’d do it in private. Neither of us would enjoy a public proposal and anyway it fits with our story better. Maybe I would propose during our college life dinner of box mac and cheese, or maybe while we were playing Mario Kart, so you would be distracted enough to let me win.”

 

Bucky tried really hard to stop himself from blushing. “I like the second one.”

 

“Wait, we’re going to need to get rings like, now,” Steve said.

 

“Right! I forgot about that!” Bucky said. Thank the gods for blank checks from billionaires.

 

***

 

A little while later, Steve and Bucky stood in the jewelry store at the mall awkwardly looking at rings.

 

“Hi! I’m Sharon. Can I help you with anything?” a saleslady asked.

 

“We’re getting married,” Steve said. Bucky barely stopped himself from cringing and forced a smile instead.

 

“We’re here to look at wedding rings,” Bucky said. “I think we were looking at these ones, here?”

 

Sharon grabbed a display of elegant silver rings. “See anything you like?”

 

Steve immediately reaches for a relatively simple silver band with two thin lines of gold running on either side of the center. Bucky grabs a ring made of a shiny black metal, also with thin gold lines. He hates how much they match, but secretly thinks it’s sort of cute.

 

“Those are a good set!” Sharon said. “Just close enough to match, but still unique.”

 

Steve and Bucky looked over at the other’s choices and laughed.

 

“Great minds?” said Steve.

 

“Yeah, you wish,” Bucky said. “I think I like this one.”

 

“Do you want to look at any others?” Sharon asked.

 

Steve glanced at Bucky before turning a bright smile on Sharon. “I think we’ll go with these ones.”

 

Sharon smiled. “Easy to please, I like it. Now let’s figure out what size rings you guys wear.”

 

She grabbed a few basic rings with numbers engraved on the sides and slipped one onto Steve’s left ring finger. 

 

“You’re a pretty good guesser,” Steve said as her first choice--a ring with the number 11 written on the side--fit perfectly.

 

“I’ve been doing this for a while,” Sharon joked, turning to Bucky. “Your turn.”

 

She got it right again as a ring marked with a number 10 slid easily onto Bucky’s ring finger. 

 

Sharon began typing something into her computer and Bucky wandered away to look at the other jewelry. He could hear Steve talking to Sharon and just hoped Steve wouldn’t say anything too stupid.

 

Bucky was looking at a diamond ring with a price tag stating it was $10,000 when Steve came over with two ring boxes. 

 

“Ready to go?” Steve asked.

 

“Yeah. Do I want to know how much those rings were?” Bucky asked.

 

“Let’s just say it’s a good thing we don’t really have a budget for this thing,” Steve said.

 

Bucky shook his head. “This  _ is _ worth getting all those gifts, right?”

 

“Probably? Honestly, at this point it’s sort of fun,” Steve said. “Buying things like this without worrying we won’t be able to eat tomorrow is nice.”

 

Bucky had to agree. “Maybe we should write enough on that check to get us groceries for a couple months. It’s not like  _ Tony Stark _ will even notice.”

 

Steve laughed. “Good point. Maybe pay our rent, too.”

 

***

 

Steve’s phone was ringing exactly two minutes after he sent a text to Bucky.

 

“You told Natasha  _ what? _ ” Bucky said in place of a greeting.

 

“I just told her I couldn’t hang out today because we’re going on a date! She wanted to play mini golf and you  _ know _ she cheats so I didn’t want to go!” Steve said, defensively. They had decided that if they told anyone any details about their relationship they would text it to the other so they could keep their stories consistent. 

 

“None of our friends know we’re getting married yet!” Bucky said. “What if she tells everyone?”

 

Steve hung up on Bucky and called Nat. He was really going to regret this later.

 

“Hi, Nat! I almost forgot, please don’t tell anyone about the wedding, we wanted to announce it ourselves,” Steve said.

 

“What wedding?” Nat asked.

 

“Uh,” Steve said, and hung up. He was  _ really _ going to regret that later.

 

He called Bucky again, who picked up immediately. 

 

“Did you just-” Bucky started.

 

“I just accidentally told Nat we’re getting married,” Steve said in a rush. “What do I do?”

 

“You- you told Nat? You weren’t supposed to talk about it without me,” Bucky said.

 

“I know, I know, it just happened. I was trying to ask her to not say anything about the date and said wedding instead,” Steve explained.

 

“Well, explain better!” Bucky said.

 

Steve hung up on Bucky again and called Nat. 

 

“Hey Nat, I meant date. Please don’t tell anyone about the date,” Steve said.

 

“Steve Rogers,” Natasha started.

 

“Okay, okay I said wedding and I meant wedding and please don’t tell anyone yet because Bucky doesn’t want me to talk about it yet and no one else knows so please don’t tell Bucky,” Steve said all in one breath.

 

“I won’t tell Bucky,” Nat said calmly. “Can you tell me what’s going on?”

 

“Not yet,” Steve said.

 

“Okay,” Nat responded. Steve totally wanted her to be his best man.

 

“I’m gonna go before I say something else I wasn’t supposed to say,” Steve said.

 

“That’s probably a good idea,” Nat agreed. They said their goodbyes and Steve sent Bucky a text saying everything was alright. 

 

Steve’s phone chimed with a text.

 

FROM: Buck (3:37 pm)

so, we actually going on that date tonight?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's really getting real now. Looking up wedding rings made me start getting ads for wedding rings?? I hate targeted ads. Also, you may notice I added two chapters to this fic. You're welcome, and I'm sorry.


	4. About Me and You

“Steve, I’m not sure this counts as a date,” Bucky said. They were at their favorite diner, where they already went at least once a month.

 

“Hey, it could be a date!” Steve said, defensive of his choice of date location. “Diners are cute, and we both like this restaurant.”

 

“Yeah, but we already eat dinner here together all the time,” Bucky argued.

 

“Those could’ve been dates if we wanted to,” Steve said, and then seemed to suddenly realize what he said.

 

“I guess,” Bucky said, trying for nonchalant and changing the subject. “Anyway, how are we going to tell our friends? And who all are we inviting to the wedding?”

 

Steve took the subject change gratefully. “We have twenty-four invitations left, so I guess we should just use those. And it might be better if we told people together.”

 

“Yeah, I agree,” Bucky said. “Definitely Sam, Nat, and Clint, and I was thinking about inviting one of my professors, Dr. Banner. He’s pretty cool and I think he needs an excuse to go outside.”

 

“Okay, cool. I might invite Thor, then. He’s my mythology professor, but he hates when we call him Dr. Odinson,” Steve said.

 

“So we have, what, nineteen invitations after that? That’s enough for various relatives, right? And whatever other friends you want to invite?” Bucky asked.

 

“Yeah, should be,” Steve said. “Should we go talk to them tomorrow?”

 

“Might as well get it over with,” Bucky agreed.

 

***

 

The next day, Steve met Bucky outside his robotics classroom after they were out of class.

 

“Hey, Dr. Banner?” Bucky said, walking in the classroom.

 

Dr. Banner looked up from his computer. “Hey, Bucky. It’s not class time, call me Bruce. What’s up?”

 

“I just wanted to introduce you to my, uh, fiance, Steve,” Bucky said.

 

Bruce smiled and shook Steve’s hand. “It’s very nice to meet you,” he said.

 

“Good to meet you too,” Steve said. “Bucky loves your class, he talks about it all the time.”

 

“Does he?” Bruce laughed, glancing at Bucky. “That’s good to hear. So, Bucky, congratulations! When’s the wedding?”

 

“That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about,” Bucky said. “It’s the 27th, and we would be honored if you would come to our wedding.”

 

Bruce took the offered invitation and read over it. “I’ll need to check my schedule, but I can’t think of anything that would conflict off the top of my head. I can definitely let you know at the next class? Thanks for inviting me, I haven’t been to a wedding in forever.”

  
  


“Of course,” Bucky said. “I really hope you can come.”

 

“Well, I will definitely try,” Bruce said.

 

***

 

Steve and Bucky walked together to Thor’s classroom. Steve had warned Bucky along the way that Thor can be a little, uh, enthusiastic, but he’s a really good guy.

 

“Steve!” Thor said as they walked inside. 

 

“Hey, Thor!” Steve said, smiling widely. “I have someone I’d like you to meet. This is my fiance, Bucky.”

 

Thor turned his sunshine smile on Bucky and engulfed both him and Steve in a hug. Neither of them are small guys, so this wasn’t an easy feat for anyone who wasn’t built like a Norse god. Luckily, Thor was.

 

Just as Bucky was starting to get uncomfortable, Thor released them both. 

 

“It’s nice to meet you,” Bucky said.

 

“And you as well!” Thor said. “How long have you known Steve?”

 

“Oh, we’ve been friends since we were kids,” Bucky said, smiling a little. “For what, fifteen years now?”

 

“Yeah, something like that,” Steve said. “We’ve only been, like, together together for about four years, though.”

 

“That’s great!” Thor said. “Weddings are such fun.”

 

“Yeah, and we were wondering if you would like to come to ours? I would really appreciate it if you could,” Steve said, handing Thor an invitation. 

 

Thor barely glanced at the invitation before pulling them both back into another bone-crushing hug. And this guy was a  _ professor _ ? Bucky thought he should be a model, or maybe a professional hugger. Is that a thing? Bucky was pretty sure it should be.

 

“Of course I’ll be there!” Thor said. “Thank you for the invitation!”

 

“No problem!” Steve said. “Just let us know if you can make it.”

 

“I will!” Thor said.

 

***

 

“Well, that was exhausting,” Bucky said.

 

Steve laughed. “Yeah, but his classes are actually really interesting.”

 

“I’m sure,” Bucky said. “So, who are we telling next?”

 

“I guess we should go find Sam,” Steve said.

 

“Dibs on Sam for best man,” Bucky said.

 

“Okay, I wanted Nat anyway,” Steve said.

 

“Nat doesn’t count!” Bucky argued.

 

“Maybe, but do  _ you _ want to tell her that?” Steve asked.

 

Bucky shuddered. “No.”

 

“Well, then. I guess she’s my best man,” Steve said, looking triumphant. 

 

Bucky just rolled his eyes and let Steve think he won.

 

***

 

“Hey, Sam,” Bucky said with a smile as Sam opened his front door.

 

“Hey, guys,” Sam said, looking between Steve and Bucky. He glanced behind him, where Nat and Clint were waiting on his couch. “Any reason you sent out the ‘assemble’ text? Those are serious, you know. Nat will kill you if this isn’t actually important.”

 

“Good thing it’s important, then,” Steve said, clapping Sam on the shoulder as he walked inside, Bucky right behind him. Sam shut the door and followed, sitting down next to Natasha as Steve and Bucky hovered awkwardly in the middle of the room.

 

“I bet you’re wondering why we gathered you all here today,” Bucky said, going for teasing. Nobody laughed, and he looked to Steve for help. Steve, who is a rather tall guy, was trying to appear invisible. Bucky prayed for patience once again and grabbed Steve’s hand. Luckily, Steve didn’t pull away, but Bucky was sure it didn’t look too natural.

 

“So, me and Steve are getting married,” Bucky said as Steve attempted to look encouraging.

 

“You’re… what?” Sam asked. 

 

“Married?” Clint asked, looking confused.

 

“Congrats!” Nat said, getting up to give them both a hug. Bucky had almost forgotten that she had heard about it earlier. 

 

“You don’t think this is weird?” Sam asked.

 

“Why would it be weird?” Nat asked defensively. “They’re obviously in love.”

 

Clint raised his hand. “Am I the only one who didn’t know they were even dating?”

 

“Uh, no, I didn’t either,” Sam said.

 

“We’ve been together, like, four years,” Bucky said. Steve was still mute, though he didn’t appear to be that uncomfortable anymore.

 

“I don’t buy it,” Clint said, as Nat glared daggers at him. “I wanna see a ring.”

 

Steve and Bucky held out their hands in unison, where their half-matching rings sat and gleamed in the light. Nat immediately started oohing over them, and Bucky got the feeling she knew something was up and was trying to help them cover it up. Maybe she was just being supportive, but she really didn’t act like this a lot.

 

“Yeah, I’m not getting it either,” Sam said. “Which one of you proposed?”

 

“I did,” Steve said, which was the only helpful thing he said all night.

 

“‘Proposed’ is a strong word,” Bucky said. “He asked if I would marry him while I was beating him at Mario Kart. Got me off my game just enough to win, and then after the game said he was serious.”

 

Sam and Clint still looked only half convinced, so Bucky tried to redirect a little. “Nat, Steve wants you as his best man.”

 

Natasha looked delighted. “Yes! I knew it. I’ve got your back, Steve.”

 

“Sam, will you be my best man?” Bucky asked.

 

“Yeah, of course, man. Sorry if I’m being weird about this. I’m happy for you guys, really,” Sam said, getting up to give Bucky a hug. “Congrats, dude.”

 

“Hey, what about me?” Clint asked. “I wanna be part of this, too.’

 

Bucky thought for a second. “You can be the flower girl.”

 

Clint grinned, standing up to hug both Steve and Bucky. “Perfect! I’ll be the best flower girl you’ve ever seen.”

 

Steve finally remembered to grab three official invitations from his jacket pockets and handed them out. They all sat down, and conversation eventually moved to other topics. Bucky sat back, relieved. That wasn’t quite as bad as he thought it would be. Now they just had to finish planning this party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long, I was having trouble getting all the different characters right. next chapter is final plans, and the chapter after that is the big day!


	5. Inescapable

Bucky groaned and hit his head on the table. “Every single one of these cakes tastes identical, Steve. Does it really matter which one we pick?”

 

Steve looked offended. “It’s an important choice, Buck. Like, do we want fondant or buttercream? Traditional wedding cake or white cake? Classic decorations or something else?”

 

“Buttercream, traditional, and I don’t care just not white roses, okay?” Bucky said, entirely done with cake tasting. Speed planning a wedding turned out to be extremely complicated.

 

“There, was that so hard?” Steve asked, looking pleased. “I agree, by the way. I’ll go talk to the lady.” He left to go talk to the baker, and Bucky took another bite of cake, not really paying attention to which one he grabbed. He made a face, tasting fondant. Gross.

 

Steve came back, and Bucky got up so they could finally leave. “She said it’ll be delivered like an hour before the wedding,” Steve said. Bucky nodded and followed Steve out to their car.

 

“What else do we need?” Bucky asked, looking at the list on his phone. “Oh, stop at the suit store. We need to rent something.”

 

“The suit store? Really?” Steve asked.

 

“Shut up, I don’t know what it’s called,” Bucky said, frowning at his phone. Who knew planning a wedding was so complicated?

 

Two hours later and they had both been fitted for rental suits. Sam would pick them up on his way to the wedding, so they didn’t even have to worry about it. Bucky’s mind went blank when he remembered how Steve had chosen a navy blue, structured suit that looked almost like a military uniform. The sharp outline of the jacket was stunning on Steve’s already broad shoulders, and the color made his eyes even more blue. Bucky had opted for a soft dark gray fitted suit that he thought made him look pretty good, though he didn’t think he looked as good as Steve. Nat and Sam had said they were going to get their own outfits, so Bucky tried not to worry about them too much.

 

The florist tried to talk them out of using red anemone flowers for their boutonniere since it apparently symbolizes forsaken or forgotten love. Bucky secretly thought it was appropriate, and both men insisted that the flower was pretty enough they didn’t care about the meaning, just the aesthetic. The florist eventually gave in, so even though their suits didn’t match, their boutonnieres would.

 

Steve and Bucky ordered matching centerpieces with the red anemone, white snapdragons, gray roses, and a few others that Bucky didn’t recognize. The florist made them one as an example, and they both agreed the bouquets looked good and also supported their color theme of dark red and gray. Of course Steve had to break the theme a little with his navy suit, but he looked good enough that Bucky couldn’t find the motivation to argue. 

 

“So who should we get to cater?” Bucky asked as they left the florist's with their sample centerpiece. 

 

“I have no idea,” Steve said. “I have made way too many decisions today.”

 

“Well, I think we should get a food truck. Wouldn’t that be awesome?” Bucky said.

 

“Oh, good idea,” Steve said.

 

“Like, maybe a taco truck? Everyone loves tacos,” Bucky said. 

 

Steve thought for a second. “We could go talk to that one by that other store where we got that thing?”

 

“We spend way too much time together. Yeah, let’s go ask them real quick,” Bucky said.

 

When they finally got home, successful in their quest for a taco truck, Bucky was just about ready to face plant into bed even though it was only about eight o’clock.

 

“Wait, what are we doing about our vows?” Steve asked, stopping Bucky from heading down the hallway to his room.

 

Bucky closed his eyes. “I forgot about that.”

 

“We could write them together?” Steve suggested.

 

“No! I mean, no, that’s okay. I’d rather write mine on my own, if that’s okay,” Bucky said, suddenly awake.

 

Steve squinted at him. “Yeah, no problem. Sorry.”

 

“No, it’s okay, I just. I can’t have you reading over my shoulder for something like this,” Bucky explained. He had a plan. It really probably wasn’t a good idea, but Bucky was planning on admitting his feelings for Steve during his vows. Bad idea? Yes. But Bucky was tired of pretending this wedding was just for show, but couldn’t think of a way to say it otherwise.

 

***

 

Steve was actually really relieved Bucky didn’t want to write their vows together. Because Steve was a self-described reckless idiot, he was going to tell Bucky he actually loved him during his vows, at their actual wedding. He knew it was super ironic, but seemed weirdly appropriate. Steve sat down with a pen and started drafting a speech. It couldn’t sound too obvious, since his friends and family all thought they were already, you know, in love. But he had to tell Bucky somehow, but he couldn’t think of the right words in any other context.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so sorry that took so long, but, you know. real life exists, unfortunately. the next chapter is the actual wedding, though, so get ready!


	6. A Golden Tattoo

Bucky woke up on the morning of his wedding with a feeling of dread settled in his stomach. He was  _ really _ going to tell Steve, today, that he loved him. In front of all of their friends and most of their families. Why did he think this was a good idea again? Well, he couldn’t back out now. They invested way too much money into this party for him to suddenly back out. Plus, he was worried it would mess up his relationship with Steve, and that was all he really cared about, anyway.

 

The wedding was starting at four pm, and Sam was picking him and Steve up at eleven so they could go set up at the venue. The venue is a small church, where they could have the ceremony inside and then an outdoor reception. Formal enough for their parents--who were weirdly unsurprised about the whole thing--but casual enough that Steve and Bucky were comfortable.

 

Yeah, so Steve and Bucky weren’t supposed to see each other before the wedding. Well, Steve decided that was a dumb rule and if they couldn’t see each other, who was going to set up the centerpieces? As they got to the church, the delivery van for the flowers pulled up as well, and Steve and Bucky both got busy arranging them on the tables they had set up outside. Bucky hadn’t really talked to Steve that morning, other than asking him to pass another flower or his opinion on where the taco truck should go. He was worried that Sam would think it was weird, but Sam seemed to think Bucky was just nervous. 

 

As they got nearer to the wedding, Sam left to go pick up their suits and Natasha arrived already in her dress. Bucky couldn’t really tell you what happened in those few hours that they were setting up, but soon he was being dragged off by Sam to go get ready before the guests arrived, assuring him that everything looked perfect.

 

“Sam, listen,” Bucky said, taking a deep breath, “I really gotta tell you something.”

 

“Hey, woah, you’re not backing out, are you? I know you’re nervous, but you can’t do that, man,” Sam said, holding up his hands.

 

“No, I just, I have to tell you. Don’t tell Steve I told you, but this wedding started as a plan to get an expensive gift from Tony Stark,” Bucky said quickly.

 

“What?” Sam asked.

 

“Steve heard that if you send a billionaire a wedding invitation their secretary would send you a gift without even talking to the guy. We sent one to Stark thinking we could get a laptop out of it, and then he RSVPed and we didn’t know what to do,” Bucky explained.

 

“Why didn’t you just tell Stark the wedding was cancelled?” Sam asked.

 

“We didn’t know how! And then Steve convinced me it would be fine anyway, but now we’re actually here and I’m freaking out,” Bucky said.

 

“Okay, calm down for a second,” Sam said. “Can I just ask you one question?”

 

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Bucky said.

 

“Do you love Steve?” Sam asked.

 

Bucky looked down. “I do, Sam. But he doesn’t know that, and I know he doesn’t feel the same way.”

 

“How do you know?” Sam asked, matter-of-factly.

 

“What?” Bucky asked, finally meeting Sam’s eyes.

 

“How do you know he doesn’t feel the same way?”

 

“Well, he, I don’t know, he’s never said anything,” Bucky said.

 

“Bucky,” Sam said. “Neither have you. Not to him. I haven’t talked to him about this, but I think you might be surprised if you would actually talk to him.”

 

“I was kinda planning on telling him in my vows today,” Bucky said, looking sheepish.

 

Sam looked up to the ceiling like he was looking for divine intervention. “You didn’t think you should tell him, I don’t know, privately? What if he has a weird reaction?”

 

“Sam, I can’t do that. I really, really can’t. I want to have witnesses if I’m murdered,” Bucky said, trying to joke. Sam just stared at him. Bucky sighed. “If you don’t think it’s a good idea I won’t tell him today.”

 

“No, I think you have to,” Sam said. “Otherwise I don’t think you ever will. Now come on, we’re almost late.”

 

***

 

At the same time, Steve was getting ready with Natasha.

 

“Nat, I have to tell you something but don’t tell Bucky that I told you,” Steve said.

 

“Um, okay? What?” Natasha asked.

 

“The wedding is fake. We started this to get a gift from Tony Stark,” Steve admitted.

 

“You what? Why did that even sound like a good idea?” Natasha asked.

 

“I read something on tumblr about getting wedding gifts from random billionaires if you just send them an invitation, I didn’t think Tony would actually RSVP!” Steve said.

 

“So do you not want to marry Bucky?” Natasha asked.

 

“No! I mean, yes, I do. I really do. But he doesn’t love me, Nat.” Steve looked up at her with his best puppy dog eyes. Unfortunately, Natasha was unaffected.

 

“Not a lot of platonic best friends would agree to marry you if he really didn’t want to, Steve. I think you should tell him how you feel, and maybe he’ll tell you he feels the same way,” Natasha said.

 

“I was planning on telling him in my vows today. Is that a bad idea?” Steve asked.

 

“No, I think it’s a good idea, because I think you’d chicken out otherwise,” Natasha said, not incorrectly.

 

“Yeah, okay. Okay. Let’s go,” Steve said.

 

***

 

The guests all stood as a piano version of the  _ Doctor Who _ theme started to play. Clint walked down the aisle first, scattering red and silver silk petals as he went, grinning the whole way down. He sat in the first row and threw the rest of the petals in the air above his head.

 

Bucky and Sam followed behind him, arm in arm. Bucky and Sam stood to the left of the officiant, watching the aisle expectantly. 

 

Steve and Natasha came through the doors, and Bucky smiled at the sight of Steve walking toward him. Steve and Nat stood on the other side of the altar, and the guests sat down. 

 

This was the exact moment that Bucky realised that this was actually happening, and as a result later couldn’t remember what was said at all before it was his turn to say his vows. 

 

“Bucky, I believe you have written your own vows?”

 

“Yeah,” Bucky said. He pulled some note cards out of an inside jacket pocket and began to read. “Steve,” he started, and stopped to take a breath. “Steve, I’m here to tell you today that I’ll always,  _ always _ be here for you. No matter when, or where, or what you need, I’ll be right here by your side. I’m still not sure when you got taller than me, but here we are, like, fifteen years in and I still see the little guy I fell in love with. Yeah, you heard me,” Bucky looked out at the audience for a second, “I loved him  _ before _ he looked like a Greek god. But it’s not just that. Steve, you’re the best friend I’ve ever had, and the best friend I ever will have. And today I promise to be the best man I can be for you, and only you. 

 

“I promise to always be there when you’re sick, or when you’ve gotten beaten up again, or when you just need someone to talk to. I promise I’ll listen to your dumb ideas that end with us in far more trouble than I bargained for, and I’ll even attempt to talk you out of them. Doll, don’t look at me like that. You know I’m right,” Bucky said as Steve glared at him, “Anyway, I promise to laugh with you, laugh  _ at _ you, and love you forever, whether you want me to or not.”

 

Bucky could hear a few sniffles from the audience and had to hide a smirk. He looked up but avoided Steve’s eyes as the officiant asked Steve to read his vows. Bucky noticed that Steve memorized his vows, because of course he did.

 

“Bucky, I never really thought we would be here someday,” Steve started. “I mean, I’ve loved you since we met a lifetime ago. But until fairly recently I wasn’t sure you loved me at all. But I’m here for forever, and now I know you are too. I promise to tell you all of my brilliant ideas, which you know work out well for you, don’t even try to deny it. I can think of one in particular that’s working out better than you expected. 

 

“I promise to listen to you rant about your classes, and to bake you cookies when you get a craving, as long as you don’t touch my oven. You know what you did,” Steve said as the audience laughed a little. “But really, I promise to cheer you up when you’re overwhelmed, to support you in everything you do, and to fight anyone who wrongs you. I promise to be your best friend for a whole other forever, and to never give up on you. Bucky, I love you, and I hope you’ll keep me, ‘cause I’m with you ‘til the end of the line.”

 

Bucky squeezed Steve’s hand as he realised what Steve had just said. He really wasn’t expecting Steve to say that. He was, of course, ecstatic, but he was kind of in shock until the officiant said “I now pronounce you husbands, you may kiss,” and both men froze for a second.

 

How could Bucky forget about the kiss? Every wedding ended with a kiss! Why didn’t he realise that he would need to kiss Steve in front of everyone he knew? They did not prepare for this. Bucky could not believe that his and Steve’s first kiss was actually happening  _ at _ their wedding.

 

Before the pause got too noticeable, Steve put his hand on the back of Bucky’s neck and pulled him in for a kiss. Bucky didn’t mind, of course, but he also kind of wasn’t expecting Steve to be the one to start it. 

 

Bucky had meant the kiss to be quick and innocent, mainly because they were standing in front of their parents, but he got a little lost for a second, leaning after Steve when he started to pull away. 

 

Bucky’s eyelashes fluttered as he stood up straight and the guests applauded. The clapping and occasional whistle coming from the guests was just background noise to Steve and Bucky as they turned and walked hand in hand back down the aisle and out the church doors. Sam, Nat, and Clint followed close behind, and soon everyone was sitting at a table outside.

 

“Finally! I’m starving,” Clint said as he walked over to the taco truck to get his dinner.

 

Bucky laughed and pulled Steve along with him to go get their own food. He hadn’t let go of Steve’s hand since they left the church and he didn’t really intend to. 

 

As they were eating, Sam and Nat stood up and gave a speech full of phrases like “these idiots” and “finally” and “really, it’s about time.” Of course, both grooms were mortified by their best friends by the time they finally sat down, but they didn’t really mind. 

 

***

 

Soon everyone had finished their food and started to drift over to the designated dance floor. Luckily, Steve and Bucky had actually remembered the first dance tradition, and they had picked “New Year’s Day” by Taylor Swift. 

 

As the song started to play, Bucky held Steve closer than they had really planned on, but it wasn’t like they had expected to both admit their feelings on the same day and at their actual wedding. They didn’t plan any fancy choreography, mostly because both had expected this dance to be really awkward and a little uncomfortable for everyone. 

 

But now they knew where they stood, and Steve and Bucky spent the entire song in a close, simple waltz that neither really knew how to actually dance but somehow still managed to make it look elegant and romantic. When the song ended, they kissed in such a way that caused Sam and Natasha look at each other in exasperation. Now that these two figured it out, they were going to be absolutely insufferable. 

 

Steve and Bucky danced for a while longer before they finally decided that they should go mingle with their guests. They found their parents first, accepting about a million hugs and congratulations before escaping to talk to their friends. Thor and Bruce found them first, and Thor pulled both into a crushing hug.

 

“Congratulations, Steve!” Thor said as he released them.

 

“Congrats, guys. That was a beautiful ceremony,” Bruce said.

 

“Thank you. Steve messed up the color theme, though,” Bucky said fondly.

 

“You should’ve said something!” Steve said. “I could’ve picked a different color.”

 

“No way,” Bucky said. “Have you seen yourself in navy blue?”

 

Thor laughed. “You both look wonderful.”

 

“Thanks, Thor,” Steve said. “I’m so glad you could both make it today.”

 

“So are we,” Bruce said, grabbing Thor’s hand.

 

Bucky glanced down at their joined hands and back up questioningly. “Are you guys, like, together?” he asked.

 

“Bruce and I have been partners for ten years, now,” Thor said with a proud, sunshiney smile.

 

“Oh,” Bucky said, a little shook, “that’s great! Sorry, I didn’t know.

 

“Yeah, we don’t talk about it too much on campus,” Bruce said. 

 

“Well, we had to invite our favorite professors. We didn’t know we could’ve saved a whole invitation, though,” Steve joked.

 

Thor and Bruce laughed. “Good point,” Bruce said.

 

A weirdly unfamiliar voice called for them then, so Steve and Bucky excused themselves and turned around to see who was calling. Tony Stark was waving at them excitedly.

 

“Steve, Bucky! Good to finally meet you,” Tony said.

 

“Nice to meet you, too, Mr. Stark,” Bucky said, shaking Tony’s hand.

 

“Tony, please,” Tony said as he shook Steve’s hand.

 

“I have to say, we were a bit surprised to receive your RSVP,” Steve said.

 

Tony smiled. “Pepper loves weddings. We hadn’t been to one in a while so when I got your invitation I just had to bring her.”

 

“Oh, okay. Thanks for funding this whole party, by the way,” Bucky said.

 

Tony waved a hand dismissively. “It was no problem.”

 

“How did you know we needed it, though?” Steve asked.

 

Natasha appeared at Tony’s side. “I told him,” she said.

 

“You know Tony Stark?” Steve asked.

 

“Yeah, I’m his new secretary,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it when I got the invitation.”

 

“That… actually makes a lot of sense,” Bucky said. “Of course you were behind this. I guess we should be thanking you?”

 

“Yes you should,” Natasha said.

 

“Wait, no,” Steve said. “You let me tell you earlier without telling me you already knew.”

 

Nat smiled. “I wanted to hear what you had to say.”

 

“Whatever,” Steve rolled his eyes. “We’re leaving. Nice to meet you, Tony.”

 

Other friends and family were glad to talk to Steve and Bucky until it was late enough that everyone felt they could leave without it being weird. Bucky, at least, was relieved. He was  _ exhausted _ and would probably sleep for, like, twenty-four hours after this.

 

When Steve and Bucky got back to their apartment, they fell onto Bucky’s bed still fully dressed in their rented suits and fell asleep together for the first time as partners.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm So Sorry this took so long, it was just a little daunting?? but this chapter is like 2.6k so hopefully that makes up for it?? also, the church they got married in is real, but they don't do receptions irl. please ignore that and let me make things up bc i have no idea how off-site receptions work lol thanks


	7. Now I Wake Up By Your Side

Bucky stretched and realised he hadn’t changed out of his suit the night before. He laughed softly to himself and rolled over to find Steve, but found only rumpled bed sheets next to him. Bucky got up and quickly exchanged the suit for a pair of sweatpants and a loose white t-shirt before stumbling out of his--and Steve’s, now--room. Bucky let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding when he saw Steve standing at the stove in their kitchen.

 

He walked over to stand behind him, wrapping his arms around Steve’s waist as he flipped pancakes. Steve smiled and leaned back a little into Bucky’s chest. 

 

“Morning, doll,” Bucky said into the back of Steve’s neck.

 

“Good Morning,” Steve laughed. “We’re married.”

 

How could Bucky forget? “I know,” he said. “Wild.”

 

“I meant it, you know,” Steve said, disentangling himself from Bucky’s arms to turn around and face him. “I love you.”

 

“So did I,” Bucky said as he put a hand on Steve’s chest. “I love you too.”

 

“Good,” Steve said. “As much as I hate to say this, I’m burning the pancakes. Give me two minutes.”

 

Bucky laughed and let Steve turn back to the stove to save their breakfast. Now that he looked closer, he could see that the pancakes were all heart-shaped. What a nerd. 

 

***

 

“Bucky! Look!” Steve said from their living room.

 

“What?” Bucky asked from the other room.

 

“You have to come see,” Steve yelled back.

 

Bucky sighed and walked out of their room. Steve was sat on the floor, holding two thin boxes wrapped in shiny silver paper. 

 

“What’s that?” he asked. “I thought we opened all our wedding gifts.” There had been a disappointing lack of computers, but considering they had finally admitted their feelings, neither of them really cared.

 

“They’re addressed to us,” Steve said. “I found them on the porch with the mail.” He handed Bucky the box with his name on it and held his own closer. They didn’t show any sign of who had sent the packages.

 

“I guess we should open them,” Bucky said.

 

Steve excitedly tore off the wrapping, grinning when he realized what was inside. He laughed and held up a brand-new laptop, a very expensive and advanced StarkTech one. Bucky held a matching box.

 

“Well,” Bucky said, “We got what we wanted, guess we can get a divorce now.”

 

“Nope,” Steve laughed. “Remember, you’re stuck with me now.”

 

“Good,” Bucky smiled. 

 

***

 

A year later found Steve and Bucky in much the same situation, just in new classes and far more in love. 

 

“Happy anniversary,” Steve said, handing Bucky a bouquet of the same flowers they had in their wedding. 

 

“Happy anniversary,” Bucky said. “Guess what I did.”

 

“I’m worried,” Steve laughed. “What did you do?”

 

“I have successfully made you waffles,” Bucky said.

 

“Really? You’re the best,” Steve said. 

 

“I know,” Bucky said. 

 

“Oh, hey,” Steve said later, after their breakfast. “We have to eat that piece of cake we saved.”

 

“Right. Why is that a thing?” Bucky asked.

 

“I have no idea, but my mom insisted we have one traditional thing,” Steve said. 

 

“That’s fair. I’ll go get it out of the freezer,” Bucky said.

 

They let the cake defrost for the rest of the day before finally deciding it was un-frozen enough to eat.

 

Steve and Bucky each gave each other a bite of their wedding cake, and immediately regretted it.

 

“This is so gross,” Bucky said with a mouth full of year old cake. “Why?”

 

“I really don’t know,” Steve said. “One bite is enough, right? It’s, like, good luck or whatever?”

 

“Who needs luck?” Bucky asked. “I love you anyway.”

 

“Good point,” Steve said and leaned over to give Bucky a buttercream flavored kiss. “I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here it is! the last chapter of my first multi-chapter fic. i hope you liked it and thanks so much for reading


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